Military shell found in Lake County scrap yard

March 27, 2009

A World War II U.S. military shell was found this morning in a north suburban scrap yard, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.

Lake County Sheriff's police and local firefighters block the driveway entrance at scrap metal dealer, Rondout Iron and Metal in Rondout as they conduct an investigation today. (Tribune/David Trotman-Wilkins)

About 10:13 a.m., the sheriff's office responded to the Rondout Scrap Metal Company, 1501 Rockland Rd., in the Lake Bluff area for a report of a "suspicious item," according to a news release from the sheriff's department.

When sheriff's deputies arrived, an employee of the company showed them a 2 ½-foot-long military shell 5 inches in diameter that was found within the piles of scrap metal. The sheriff's office called in a bomb squad and cordoned off the area, until further inspection revealed the item to be a military shell.

The bomb squad contacted U.S. military personnel in Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. who agreed to send an ordnance team to the scrap yard to inspect the shell, the release said. While waiting for the team's arrival, the sheriff's office formed a 300-yard perimeter around the device.

The ordnance team inspected the shell and determined it was an empty World War II-era 155 mm Howitzer shell, the release said, adding that "the fuse was determined to be live and was separated from the shell."

Both items were taken to the sheriff's office training facility in Russell to be detonated.

"The sheriff's office will work with the U.S. military officials in determining the age and origin of the shell and how it ended up at the scrap metal facility," the release stated.